Concerned about recent media reports, L’Occitane International S.A. is aiming to clarify the company’s position as it has recently been stated in the media. Accordingly, the company announced L’Occitane does not and never has tested its products on animals, and it only works with suppliers who can certify that all raw materials in its products are also not tested on animals.

L’Occitane is committed to a policy of not testing its products on animals. It has been associated and committed to working together with the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and One Voice associations. The company’s products are sold globally and, along with many other global businesses, China is an essential market for its development. L’Occitane respects the right of each country to set their own laws and regulations; it actively seeks to influence the debate on abolishing tests on animals throughout the world and anticipates an end to animal testing in China.

Hence, L’Occitane is actively working with the BUAV, with whom it has a long-term relationship, to allow the alternative tests that apply elsewhere in the world. At the beginning of 2011, the company took part in a colloquium in Beijing together with the BUAV and the Chinese authorities, which aimed to implement alternative tests recognized by these same authorities. These tests may replace the tests that are currently in place in China. Since then, L’Occitane has continuously met with the BUAV, as well as other likeminded beauty brands and European and Chinese authorities as recently as May 2012, to further progress efforts in China.

As a result, Chinese authorities have recently put in place a program to establish an alternative test protocol, and L’Occitane and the BUAV are continuing their efforts to achieve positive lasting change on this matter.